Both Dreamgirls and Sparkle follow a dramatic arc familiar to a generation who grew up with the actual girl groups of the 1960s, specifically the Supremes. The success stories of these all-female singing groups were told and retold in publicity, biographies and promotional materials until an archetypal tale emerged that seemed to describe the path to success for all of them. The essential ingredients for such a tale includes their management by a Svengali-like male, who must contend with clashing egos and a merciless music business. Along the way, a diva emerges from the group while the others fall prey to the temptations of men and drugs.
In Sparkle, three Harlem sisters--Sister, Delores and Sparkle Williams--form a singing group in dubbed Sister & the Sisters. The trio are managed by two young men from the neighborhood, Stix and Levi. They quickly become a sensation in the local club scene, but the sisters display disparate personalities, creating a stumbling block to fame and fortune. Lonette McKee stars as Sister Williams, a beautiful, self-assured woman who falls under the sway of a smooth-talking rogue who leads her into drugs. Dwan Smith costars as Delores, who becomes more interested in racial issues and politics than singing, while a teenage Irene Cara plays the title character who is destined to be the biggest star.
Sparkle boasts a notable cast of newcomers, who would go on to wider fame, as well as bit players who were veterans of black entertainment circuits from an earlier era. Cara was only 16 when she costarred in Sparkle, but she had already been performing on Broadway and on television for nine years. Sparkle was her second feature film, preceding her breakthrough performance in Fame by four years. Stix is played by Philip Michael Thomas, who would become a major television star as Ricardo Tubbs on Miami Vice. Levi is portrayed by Dorian Harewood, who went on to a successful career as a character actor in film and television, including Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (1987). McKee benefitted the most from Sparkle as reviewers singled out her vibrant performance, and she became an idol for a generation of African American girls. She was cast in several notable films and Broadway productions of the 1970s and 1980s, including Francis Ford Coppola's The Cotton Club (1984) and Gardens of Stone (1987).
African American audiences likely recognized a few familiar faces in cameos and bit roles sprinkled throughout Sparkle. Comic actor Don Bexley, best known for his role as Bubba on Sanford and Son, played the bawdy emcee during the amateur contest sequence. Comedian Timmie Rogers appeared as the emcee at the Shan-Doo Club. When Rogers began his career, black comics were still performing using heavy slang and vernacular and could not directly address a white audience. They had to perform in pairs or play characters, including those in blackface and garish clothes. Rogers went against this expectation and instead wore a tuxedo and spoke directly to his audiences no matter their race. Michael Peters, who won a Tony for his choreography for Dreamgirls, plays an outrageous rhythm-and-blues artist along the lines of Screamin' Jay Hawkins.
In retrospect, the songs and music are considered the film's strength by contemporary reviewers. Curtis Mayfield, who had been part of the Chicago soul group The Impressions, penned the songs and conceived the musical score. The music was less like the music of the period and more in keeping with the styles of the 1970s with echoes of Motown. The cast sung their own songs in Sparkle, but the soundtrack featured Aretha Franklin singing all the vocals, a sore point for fans of the film. Lester Wilson, who conceived John Travolta's dance moves in Saturday Night Fever (1977) the following year, choreographed the stylized gestures and poses for Sister & the Sisters, which are reminiscent of girl-group moves from the 1960s. In 1992, Wilson returned to girl-group moves in his choreography for Sister Act.
Sparkle was the first directorial effort by respected editor Sam O'Steen. However, his editorial skills did not translate into stellar direction for the film. Sparkle was written by Joel Schumacher, who was just beginning his Hollywood career. His experience on the film led to screenplays for other black-led films, including Car Wash (1976), The Wiz (1978) and D.C. Cab (1983). Schumacher turned to directing in the late 1970s and is better known for such smoothly crafted studio fare as The Lost Boys (1987), The Client (1994), A Time to Kill (1996) and Batman and Robin (1997). That craftsmanship is less apparent in Sparkle, which reveals its low-budget, amateur origins through cliched dialogue, flawed plotting and a 1970s interpretation of 1950s Harlem.
Despite its flaws and its lack of box office success, Sparkle became one of the major cult films for African American audiences. It not only featured black female protagonists, but it also dramatized an important era of the black music scene. Like Cooley High (1975), it treated young African American lives seriously and authentically, giving it sincerity and charm. Word of mouth through the decades created a following for the film. En Vogue covered one of the film's songs, "Something He Can Feel," in 1992, and beginning in 2000, Whitney Houston tried to mount a remake of the film with singer Aaliyah as Sparkle Williams. Later, rumors circulated that Disney star Raven-Symoné had been approached to play Sparkle. Finally, Houston coproduced her remake in 2012 with American Idol winner Jordin Sparks in the title role and Houston as the sisters' mother. While the remake benefits from a larger budget and its identity as Houston's final film appearance, it lacks the original's significance and sincerity.
By Susan Doll
Producers: Peter Brown, Howarad Rosenman, and Beryl Vertue for Robert Stigwood Organization; distributed by Warner Bros.
Director: Sam O'Steen
Screenplay: Joel Schumacher from a story by Joel Schumacher and Howard Rosenman
Cinematography: Bruce Surtees
Editor: Gordon Scott
Art Direction: Peter Wooley
Music: Curtis Mayfield
Choreography: Lester Wilson
Cast: Stix (Philip Michael Thomas), Sparkle (Irene Cara), Sister (Lonette McKee), Delores (Dwan Smith), Effie (Mary Alice), Levi (Dorian Harewood), Satin (Tony King), Mrs. Waters (Beatrice Winde), Moe (Paul Lambert), Lee (Joyce Easton), Ham (Otis Day), Doreen (Norma Miller), Emcee at Amateur Contest (Don Bexley), Emcee at Shan-Doo Club (Timmie Rogers), Rhythm-and-blues singer (Michael Peters)
1976 Color 98 mins.
